Students Take Top Honors in 2013 Designs for Safety Competition

Award-winners Pablo Moscoso (second from left), Arielle Cardone (center) and Noemi Nagy (second from right), are flanked by officials at the World Traffic Safety Symposium.

For the second year in
a row, Montclair State University students won the grand prize in the Designs
for Safety competition sponsored by the World Traffic Safety Symposium. Sophomores
Arielle Cardone and Noemi Nagy received the grand prize for their submission,
“protectaRail.” Pablo Moscoso was the winner of the annual competition’s second
prize. The winners, who were selected by a panel of industry experts, were
announced on April 5 during the New York International Automobile Show held at
Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Center.

“I feel particularly
honored to have won in two successive years,” says Denis Feigler, director of
the University’s Industrial Design program. “It is a big achievement for
students to submit entries to national competitions – let alone win them.”

“I didn’t expect to
win, but it feels great to succeed,” says Highstown, N.J. resident Nagy.

Cardone and Nagy’s
winning “protectaRail” design came about when they realized that metal
guardrails often exacerbate the severity of an accident. Seeking to minimize
the impact of a crash, the team designed vacuum-sealed silicone pouches filled
with a mixture of cornstarch and water that attach to guardrails. When mixed
with water, they explain, cornstarch forms a thick liquid. But on impact, the
mixture reacts as a solid and absorbs the force of the crash. This protective
buffer could reduce injuries to cars and drivers – and ultimately save lives.

The Industrial Design
department received $1000 of the $5000 grand prize: Carbone and Nagy split the
remaining $4000.

“Winning this prize
means a lot. The major requires tons of effort, time and skill, so to be
recognized for that means a lot more than the money,” says Carbone, who is from
Boonton, N.J. “To be seen as the best, even if only in one competition,
provides a lot of hope and excitement for the future.”

Moscoso, an Industrial
Design major from Passaic, N.J., won second prize for his “Rhino Guard” design.
He describes his design as “extending the crumple zone to increase front and
rear energy absorbing areas in sub-compact vehicles the moment before impact in
a high-speed crash.”

“I am very excited
about this year’s results, for the program and for the students,” says Feigler.
“Students like Arielle, Noemi and Pablo set the bar for others in quality of
work and attitude and exemplify commitment, dedication, drive and passion for
industrial design.”

This is the fourth
consecutive year that Montclair State students have placed in the prestigious
national competition. Last year, Robert Passaretti won first prize for his “Inertia
Re-Routing Cabin” design for forcing the cabin upright when the front section
of a vehicle presses in after a collision. In 2011, Antonio Giannattasio, won
third prize for his “Safety Shade” design. Brenda Villegas took fourth place in
2010 for a design that detects and corrects a car’s hydroplaning.

Feigler, for one, is hoping
to continue his department’s winning streak. “We are already looking forward to
participating next year with new ideas,” he says.